This October, I will be teaching a special workshop together with published writer, Ela Vasilescu on Storytelling using words and images for students of all ages and experience.

Stand out, spread your message and make a change through words and image.

Good stories surprise us. They have compelling characters. They make us think, make us feel. They stick in our minds and help us remember ideas and concepts in a way that numbers and text on a slide with a bar graph don’t.

Unfortunately, in the era of PowerPoint and Facebook status updates, many of us have forgotten how to tell a good story. As blogs, vlogs, selfies and social/work sharing tools transform our digital lives, storytelling is becoming uniquely essential. And as we spend increasing amounts of time consuming content by the streamful, storytelling is a skill that every professional and private individual will need to master.

There’s a Native American proverb that says, “Those who tell the stories rule the world.” As technology increasingly intertwines us, it is increasingly true. It’s our job as businesses and parents and community leaders to make sure the good guys are the ones telling the best stories.

And like any skill, we’re going to need practice at it.

Lesson Plan

The course will meet four times on Saturdays starting October 18th from 11:00 to 13:00 at a meeting place in central chosen for that specific lesson plan. Each lesson includes a discussion on technique and theory followed by practical application in a creative and enjoyable environment. Each student is given individual guidance based on their specific knowledge, insight and experience.

Saturday, November 1st
Creating harmony and rhythm | all photos, no words.

Saturday, November 8th –
Defining a voice and keeping the thread | blogs, updates and family tales.

Mark Abouzeid, Visual Storyteller | Mark Abouzeid is an award winning freelance visual journalist & storyteller based in Florence, Italy. Abouzeid has recently returned from work around the Mediterranean capturing the oral histories of the sea faring cultures as part of the OralMed Project.

His years of experience in the field, often under extreme conditions, allows him to build compelling features and documentaries based upon his creative, sensual and bold imagery. He regular teaches workshops and at Universities, foreign and Italian, around Florence.

Ela Vasilescu, Author | Ela Vasilescu is a published writer and a freelance journalist based in Florence, Italy. She is currently working on her new book of short stories and is part of the Writers Group in Florence. She has created and conducted the journalistic project The human behind the artist which consists in interviews with English speaking artists living in Florence.

She believes that stories can make us look inward, to explore and verbalize our emotions better; she is always on a quest to finding those stories which cannot be seen with the naked eye. She has conducted a series of theater workshops and this year she has created a storytelling workshop for children “Let’s invent stories together!”

Lesson Details & Requirements

The workshop is open to any individual, aged 16+, who wants to improve their storytelling skills and understand better how to apply it to their work and personal life. Each lesson starts in an agreed location selected for the theme. No prior knowledge or experience in photography, writing or public speaking required.

This is supposed to be fun…students can bring iPods to listen to their own music when working individually independently but will be asked to remove them when working in groups. Comfortable clothes are recommended since we will be moving and working with basic art supplies (scissors, paste, markers) from time to time.